Story Summary:
In late October 2012, when Hurricane Sandy swept over the shores of Staten Island, hundreds of homes flooded and were destroyed to a degree most residents never expected. Some, ignoring alerts to evacuate based on experience of past storms less severe, even lost their lives; city officials counted roughly half of New York’s death toll of 48 (though residents claim the figure to be much higher) on Staten Island. Among the hardest hit neighborhoods were New Dorp and Oakwood, where these photographs were taken. By the end of November, some residents had not yet heard from their insurance agencies or FEMA and waited in limbo for direction on whether to abandon or proceed on repairs.

Caption:
The exterior structure is all that remained of a flooded and totally gutted home on Kissam Avenue after Hurricane Sandy. Kissam Avenue was among the hardest hit streets in the borough. The force of the floodwaters ripped some homes from their foundations and carried them into neighboring marshlands.